Hi Leah, I still have that C Itoh. It’s gone a ways since ‘74, mostly in its first 20 years. I’ll post a current photo of it tomorrow. It was my Dad’s, but I nagged him until he gave it to me and got himself a new Bridgestone Super Speed, which I also still have.
On Friday, August 21, 2020 at 4:36:22 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: > Speaking of fixies for toddlers, I recall learning to ride 2 wheels circa > age 4, which would have been 1959, on a tiny red bicycle with solid, black > rubber tires and a fixed wheel; I have no recollection where it came from, > because it certainly wasn't mine. Funny how strong such early memories are. > Doubtless it was this early experience that soured me on freewheels later > in life. > > The older blonde girls from next door -- I think they may have been 8 or 9 > -- made me their afternoon project, and they set me on the saddle and > pushed me down the slope of our short driveway (right into the street). But > I survived and learned. > > Speaking of the old-fashioned children's tricycles: those were horribly > unstable. I recall how 5 years later, my brother, then age 4, would tear > down the concrete driveway on his, with 16" wheel trike, rather tall for a > tricycle and, attempting to do a time trial turn at the end, would > inevitably fall over at speed and hit his head on the concrete; he was > tall, skinny, with a very big head, and I recall thinking, even at age 9, > that his large head was a liability here, and that "this can't be healthy." > Though, a couple of year later at another house with a driveway that dove > steeply down to a basement-level garage, I'd coax him into the driver's > seat and stand on the back and accelerate us rapidly down the very steep > slope, pedals whirling, his legs in the air, our aim being to safely make > the 90* right hand turn into a small corridor between back wall of house > and back wall of property; since I grasped the bar in the center, it was > his left hand that always got scraped. > > Two photos I wish I still had -- my mother kept them for decades as we > travelled between continents: A bw photo of me, age 7 or 8, with my new > 24"-wheel JC Higgins, and best friend Ricky Heinbuck, a year younger but an > inch taller, with an ancient, 28"- wheel woman's bike that his father had > resurrected from some dump or another. Another bw of me, sophomore > yearbook, age 15 or just turned 16, early 1971, with my first self-build: > Indian roadster frame, 700C flip flop rear wheel, 24" front wheel, drop > bar, rat trap pedals with no cages or straps, and no brakes because (to my > surprise) nothing would fit. 50 t cottered crank, 15 t fw, IIRC, 90" gear. > I rode it on murderous narrow, hilly, winding roads with no shoulders, with > the faster cars getting up to 80 (rode in one) and "country" buses racing > side by side around blind corners, and in downtown traffic, with no brake. > > > > On Fri, Aug 21, 2020 at 9:03 AM Ray <evans...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I wonder if Riv would consider a 3-wheeler for the aging boomer market. >> Here I am cruising one-handed on my first fixie in about 1953, trying to >> keep my shoes clean in rough garden terrain down by the tracks in northern >> Ontario. Leah, there is room on the back for you to stand on those axle >> platforms if you want me to stop by your place in Dakota. >> >> [image: trike.jpg] >> >> >> On Friday, August 21, 2020 at 6:42:54 AM UTC-7 Mark Roland wrote: >> >>> I was wondering when we would hear the bringgg bringgg of >>> Bicyclebelldingding, it's been a bit stuffy around here. >>> >>> My first bike memory is of an old white girls bike that my grandfather >>> and I rescued from the local dump. He fixed it up and that's how I learned >>> to ride. I think. >>> >>> There is a polariod somewhere of me in my pajamas on Christmas morning, >>> kneeling next to a sea-foam green Rollfast with a white banana seat, >>> chopper bars, and a big red bow. My first new bike. Eerily similar to >>> Carl's photo. >>> >>> Like Matthew, I also had a C.Itoh in a beautiful pale yellow, my first >>> ten-speed. Which, it should be noted here, was made by the Bridgestone >>> company. Although I now understand the paint job was the best thing about >>> the bike, I wanted to make it sparkle green like Janice M.'s Schwinn >>> Continental down the block. I took it apart, then used toxic stripper and >>> razor blades to take it down to bare metal. This was probably 1972, I was >>> 11 or 12. My workshop was the basement floor in front of the boiler. I >>> think I may not have used primer, and it may not have ridden quite the >>> same, but it was a fairly decent green, and there were only a few leftover >>> parts. >>> >>> The Platypus will be awesome, as will the Charlie Gallop. If they ever >>> do make a dedicated kids bike, it will need to be called a Puggle. I am >>> currently waiting on my large Susie. And building up an HHH tandem. And >>> tootling around town on my 52 *El Clem*, which is completely complete >>> except for mud flaps and likely a basket for the front rack, though that >>> will create parking issues in my living room closet. >>> >>> On Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at 10:20:50 PM UTC-4, Bicycle Belle Ding >>> Ding! wrote: >>>> >>>> Here is a thread that will veer just a bit from the normal subject >>>> matter. But it has been 112 degrees today, and we have to do something >>>> while we wait for our Platypus bikes. Going for a walk down memory lane is >>>> what we’re doing. >>>> >>>> I recently found this treasure. Pictured is me, at 5 years old with my >>>> very first bike. My parents purchased it at a garage sale from a family in >>>> town. It was a Huffy Desert Rose (long, dramatic, wistful sigh here).The >>>> story was that the bike had been backed over but -yay!- the man of the >>>> house had welded the bike back into working order. I was THRILLED. I never >>>> had training wheels - I learned by taking off and crashing all over the >>>> neighborhood. I didn’t care if I was missing a lot of hide; I had wheels >>>> and I was going places in my tiny North Dakota town. >>>> >>>> I would like to take this time to point out several things... >>>> >>>> 1. I really think they nailed the saddle height on the first try. >>>> >>>> 2. My bike had fenders! And they were clearly for decoration only. >>>> >>>> 3. What shoes was I wearing? I don’t know, but what I can tell you I >>>> didn’t trouble myself with socks. >>>> >>>> 4. My celebrity lookalike was Mowgli from the Jungle Book. >>>> >>>> 6. Banana seats > Brooks saddles. >>>> >>>> 7. No need for racks/baskets. I put a friend or a little sister on the >>>> banana seat and SHE carried the goods. >>>> >>>> 8. Kids were tougher in the 80s. That bike was huge for 5-year-old me, >>>> but I rode it. Pedaling that bike felt like being stuck in the hardest >>>> gear >>>> going uphill always (the welder dad overestimated his abilities), but I >>>> rode the wheels off of it..most likely with flat tires. >>>> >>>> In closing, I might also point out that I was into Rivendell before >>>> Rivendell was into Rivendell. Compare the Huffy with my Clementine - I was >>>> an early adopter. >>>> >>>> This was the day the love affair began, friends. I am so happy to have >>>> a photo of it. Who else has a story about their first bike? Bonus points >>>> if >>>> you can also provide photos. >>>> >>>> Leah >>>> >>>> [image: 9836764F-6714-4872-9033-F9C64A034A14.jpeg] >>>> [image: C5046809-7A38-4544-909F-E0DEB1A60092.jpeg] >>>> >>>> -- >> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/91632e8a-3c7f-4d5d-b115-50813a2930een%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/91632e8a-3c7f-4d5d-b115-50813a2930een%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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